Buddhist horror film: Mantra

The Worst Horse posts a new Buddhist horror film called Mantra.

I've been getting into horror films lately with my fellow apartment-mates and never have I thought about a Buddhist-themed horror film. I guess anything can be scary as long as you target the right emotions.

Read full article.

Dharma Drum for Young People Summer Retreat

I was sent an email about a summer retreat opportunity from Venerable Chan Yu of Dharma Drum for Young People. Here is his attached message:

"Dear Friends,

 

I am writing to announce an opportunity for college students and young professionals to attend the Chan Summer Retreats for Young People. The retreats are sponsored by Dharma Drum for Young People (DDYP), an affiliate ofUS-based *Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association*  (DDMBA).  DDYP offers the retreats as an opportunity to introduce undergraduate and graduate students, and young professionals to the benefits of meditation and the practices of mindfulness living.  Membership or affiliation with DDYP is not required.

 

The Summer Meditation Retreat for Self-Discovery (for beginners and non-beginners) will be held August 12-15 and the Chan Meditation Summer Retreat (for past participants) will be held August 15-18.  The retreats will take place at the Dharma Drum Retreat Center in Pine Bush, New York, located in the Hudson Valley near the Shawangunk Mountains. Meals accommodations, meditation, mindfulness and Dharma instruction are all included. Interested individuals are welcome to participate. The retreat fee is $40 for college and graduate students, and $120 for young professionals.

 

More information and the retreat application can be found at: www.ddyp.org and for the retreat center, visit www.dharmadrumretreat.org. "

Buddhist Life in South Korea

The LA Times gives "A taste of Buddhist life in South Korea"

"South Korea may well be the land of TV soaps and reality shows, but it is also where Seon Buddhism, Korea's answer to Japan's Zen, has remained the purest, or so the Koreans say.

I was sampling it at the Hwagyesa temple at the foot of the pine-tree covered Mount Samgaksan, where Koreans go hiking on weekends. Also called the Seoul International Zen Center, this is one of several temples where tourists can get a taste of Korean Buddhism for a day or more — and take a restoring break from the tumult of the economic meltdown."

Read full article.

Humanistic Buddhist Monastic Life Program

I received news of this program from the UCLA Center of Buddhist Studies. Sounds like a great way to start off your summer!

Humanistic Buddhist Monastic Life Program

Program Location

The Humanistic Buddhist Monastic Life Program (HBMLP) will take place at the Fo Guang Shan Monastery outside the city of Kaohsiung (Gaoxiong) in southern Taiwan. All participants will be provided lodging on the monastic grounds. All courses and activities will be conducted in English.

Program Objectives

The objective of this program is to promote the understanding of Chinese Buddhism by exposing the participants to the daily practice of Humanistic Buddhism within a traditional Buddhist monastery. The Buddhist Monastic Life Program provides international graduate and undergraduate students interested in the study of religion, Buddhism and/or Chinese culture first-hand experience in the lifestyle, training, and rituals of contemporary Chinese Buddhist monastics. This year, approximately 40 applicants will be selected to participate in the program. The primary goals of the program include:

• Offering participants a chance to view and experience Buddhism as it is practiced in modern-day Taiwan.
• Providing courses on Buddhism and Chinese culture, taught by Buddhist monastics from Fo Guang Shan
• Introducing participants to the concepts and practices of Humanistic Buddhism
• Teaching Buddhist monastic disciplines and traditions
• Exposing participants to Chinese culture and language
• Cultivating spirituality through meditation

All of these goals are to be achieved within the context of the monastic experience.

For more information, visit their website.

Week 8: Dharma Talk and Deer Park photos

Hi UBA friends,

This is just a quick note to let you all know that we resume our weekly meditation meetings this Tuesday, November 18th, from 5:30-7 pm at the University Catholic Center (633 Gayley Ave, across from the UCLA campus). Our meetings are facilitated by Reverend Kusala, who leads us in a dharma discussion followed by a chance to ask questions and a meditation. Previous dharma discussions are available in podcast form at Rev. Kusala's website: http://www.dharmatalks.info/.

Also, a big thanks to everyone who helped make our Deer Park retreat a big success this year! The pictures have been posted online; to see them, visit http://www.theuba.org/ and click on "Photos." For those who missed out this time around, never fear! We'll be offering many more events next quarter as well.

Have a great week, everyone!

The Youth in Buddhism

Here's an excerpt from a BuddhaDharma article about how Buddhism has changed demographically, esepcially in regards to the youth. For the article, Diana Winston, the Director of Mindfulness Education for the UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center, interviews four particpants, Sumi Loundon Kim, Rod Meade Sperry, Iris Brilliant And Zoketsu Norman Fischer, as part of a panel discussion.

"Nevertheless, there has been a small but important demographic shift. There are more young people at dharma centers than in the late eighties and nineties. Teen and young people retreats have contributed to broadening the dharma, as have a series of books, websites, and communities targeting young people. There is now a teacher-training program at Spirit Rock where many of the trainees are under forty. Young people are practicing, undeniably, but as Sumi Loundon Kim points out in the panel, they still account for a small percentage of the total population of practitioners."

"Twenty years after my first retreat, I can say that the dharma is absolutely relevant to young people, as this panel shows us. And the inclusion of youth in the future of the dharma will only create a vital, exciting new form of Buddhism(s). The dharma is far from dying out, but its future expressions may take us by surprise. I can’t wait to see what it looks like!"

New Photos!

Check out the new photos I posted on the Slideshow from UBA's weekend retreat to Deer Park Monastery.

Deer Park Monastery Retreat

Iwill be attending a weekend retreat at Deer Park Monastery with the UBA so I will not be able to post any entries until Sunday. I will be posting pictures and my experiences there after I come back. Have a great weekend!

Week 5: Dharma Talk and Upcoming Retreat

Hello UBA friends,

A few things to announce this week...

As usual, we continue our regular meetings this Tuesday, October 28th from 5:30-7 pm at the UCC (633 Gayley Avenue, across from the UCLA campus). Our meetings are facilitated by Reverend Kusala, who leads us in a dharma discussion followed by a chance to ask questions and a meditation. Previous dharma discussions are available in podcast format Rev. Kusala's website: www.dharmatalks.info.

Also, the weekend after next we will be traveling to Escondido, CA (San Diego area) for the annual Deer Park Monastery weekend retreat for college students, Nov. 7-9th. We plan to leave by 1 pm Friday and return by 4 or 5 pm Sunday, depending on traffic. The retreat is a great chance to experience a taste of life in a Buddhist monastery and we generally participate in activities such as meditation, dharma discussions, hiking, and enjoying delicious vegetarian meals. More info can be found at http://www.deerparkmonastery.org/events/retreats/college-retreat.ics.

The retreat will cost $40 for students for the weekend, which includes room and board in dormitory-style housing and all meals.

If you are interested and have not already done so, please RSVP as soon as you can so that we can get a head count - we will try to provide rides but we are extremely limited on car space, so let us know if you would like to go and if you are able to drive, how many people will fit in your car besides yourself. It will be very much appreciated!! After we get an idea of who is interested in coming, we will send more information on how to register.

Please email us at ucla.uba.online@gmail.com if you have any questions. Thanks and happy 5th week - best of luck on those midterms! Don't forget to take a relaxing and centering breath beforehand to remain focused...